Surrealism in cinema traces its roots back to the beginning of the art movement itself in the 1920s, with artists like Salvador Dalí and Rene Magritte crossing over from the painting medium into early attempts at filmmaking. Luis Buñuel, who collaborated with Dalí on some of these early experiments in film, is often credited as the filmmaker who brought the genre out of the silent movie era and into full-length feature fruition. Buñuel’s influence on this film genre is everlasting, and greatly inspired Federico Fellini, himself possibly the most influential filmmaker of the 20th Century.
Despite its early origins, the genre is still prevalent in today’s films, and has heavily influenced many mainstream directors who use this visual language to subvert the touchstones of traditional storytelling in order to convey a sense of the uncanny in audiences. Surrealism has the ability to free filmmakers from the traditional constraints of narrative and the suspension of disbelief and can also be used as a plot device in-and-of-itself. Look no further than the rise in popularity of the multiverse in today’s films, a concept that roots itself as much in surrealism as it does in theoretical physics and cosmology. Innovative filmmaking has always been about breaking the rules, and no film genre does more rule-breaking than surrealism. Here are some of the surrealist films that have influenced subsequent generations of filmmakers.
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15 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Columbia Pictures
Terry Gilliam’s 1988 fantasy adventure The Adventures of Baron Munchausen may trace its roots to the epic tales of the eponymous 18th Century German nobleman, but it uses the film language of surrealism so effectively that it has become the standard-bearer of every costume fantasy film made since its release. Gilliam has often used surrealism as his approach to world building, from his early stop-motion animations in Monty Python’s Flying Circus to his nearly 30 year struggle to make the film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. While it was considered a bomb upon its release, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen had a pervasive influence, due in large part to the incredible performance of Robin Williams as the King of the Moon and the stunning visuals created by Gilliam.
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14 Under the Skin
A24
Jonathan Glazer’s disturbing 2013 film, Under the Skin, crosses surrealism with science fiction, casting Scarlett Johansson as an otherworldly creature that uses her sexual attraction to bait and devour randy men who fall prey to her beautiful physical appearance. The film is a commentary on the male gaze as much as it is a surrealistic horror movie, and was influential in its extremist take on female empowerment, which became a huge theme in filmmaking only a few years after its release. Visually, one can see its influence on Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Stories and recent horror films like Pearl. It also produces a uniquely uncanny feeling in its audience by juxtaposing its visual surrealism with a realistic quality imbued by Glazer’s casting of non-actors in the male roles
13 Swiss Army Man
Possibly the most outlandishly hilarious surrealistic film ever made, Swiss Army Man uses the rule-breaking language of surrealism to create a platform for incredible physical comedy in a completely groundbreaking manner. Both Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe excel in this format, and directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan prove that surrealism can be used just as much for comedy as it can for serious subjects. Never before or since has farting (yes, farting!) been used so effectively to drive the plot of a film, and this movie maintains a tenderness that makes the otherwise revolting characters tug at our heart strings. Its influence can be seen in its incredibly positive critical reception and the many awards the filmmaking duo received, including a directorial award at the Sundance Film Festival.
12 Stalker
Goskino
One of the most visually compelling films ever made, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker was a creation that could only have come out of Soviet-era Russia, given its post-apocalyptic bent and themes relating to nuclear destruction and eastern theology. The film’s influence can be found everywhere from the incredible music videos of Chris Cunningham to the movie Annihilation, as well as HBO series like Westworld and Chernobyl. While the movie’s themes are mainly philosophical in nature, it uses surrealistic visuals to draw the audience into the “Zone”, a world where man’s deepest desires are prophesied to become reality. The haunting real-life story of the film’s production adds yet another layer to the amazing history of this film, as many of its crew members eventually died from exposure to toxic chemicals contracted while on location in industrial areas in the Soviet Union, including Tarkovsky himself.
11 The City of Lost Children
Union Générale Cinématographique
Probably the biggest staple of surrealistic art is its attempt to explain dreams, and the illusionistic capabilities of filmmaking make it the perfect medium for portraying dreamscapes. The City of Lost Children may be the most visually influential surrealist film in regards to its rich cityscapes and dream-like design. Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film set the standard for many productions that attempted to emulate its richly decorated, steampunk-esque dreamworlds. Everything from His Dark Materials to Pan’s Labyrinth have taken a shot at this visual language, though mostly through the use of CGI. The fact that such uncanny and dreamlike worlds were created using mostly practical and in-camera effects is still astounding, and this remains one of the last films to do so on this scale, given the time of its release in 1995 — abutting the expansion of CGI use in filmmaking.
10 The Seventh Seal
Svensk Filmindustri
Another major theme found throughout surrealist films is mankind’s relationship with (and contemplation of) death. Nowhere is this more directly approached than in Ingmar Bergmann’s The Seventh Seal, an allegory on the topic of God’s existence and how we should consider faith when faced with our own mortality. It is a tremendously influential film, referenced everywhere from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf to Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and remains a popular topic in film theory classes. Max Von Sydow became an internationally acclaimed actor after the film premiered at Cannes in 1957, and his chess match with Death remains the most iconic scene of any surrealist film to date.
9 Birdman
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Part dark comedy, part mockumentary and part surrealist fantasy, Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman is one of the most ambitiously-staged films ever made. The single shot approach, references to star Michael Keaton’s real-life career difficulties, and incorporation of visual effects all serve to subterfuge the audience’s disbelief and heighten the surrealistic qualities of the film. It also was one of the most awarded films ever, including a Best Picture Oscar, making it an outlier for surrealist films, most of which don’t cross into the realm of mainstream appeal.
8 El Topo
ABKCO Films
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s extremely controversial “acid western”, El Topo, has been debated just as much for its massive influence on a generation of indie filmmakers as it has for the director’s cruel and possibly abusive treatment of its actors. While its impact on filmmakers like David Lynch and Nicholas Winding Refn is undeniable, it is hard to reconcile the fact that Jodorowsky may have crossed the line between method and outright abuse in his approach to creating the performances set before his camera. Whether we can accept it as a justifiable artwork, only time will tell, but Jodorowsky’s talent as a surrealist filmmaker has since become legendary and discussed ad nauseam in film theory classes and movies about his work, such as Jodorowsky’s Dune, a documentary about his attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s novel.
7 Open Your Eyes
Canal+ Espana
Another heavily scrutinized film, Open Your Eyes has been emulated for its ingenious approach to blurring the lines between dreams and reality. It touches on themes ranging from existentialism to the notion of inner versus outer beauty. While its crossover appeal can be seen in its adaptation for American audiences in Vanilla Sky, starring Tom Cruise, the original version contains much more subtlety and introduced a fresh plot idea to surrealist filmmaking. The film’s influence can be found in movies like Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and remains one of the great performances of Penélope Cruz, who reprised her role for the American adaptation.
6 Brazil
Universal Pictures
Surrealist film language is sometimes used to critique political ideals as much as to espouse philosophical arguments, as in Terry Gilliam’s Orwellian fantasy Brazil. In retrospect, the film is a Cold War byproduct whose comedic beats reference everything from Franz Kafka’s novels to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and includes hilarious acting performances from the likes of Robert DeNiro and Bob Hoskins. Still, its comedic presentation is merely a mask for its much darker themes. Its influence can be found in films ranging from Tim Burton’s Batman to Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element, mainly due to its incredible production design and brilliant sets. The film still makes us harken back to the mid-80s, a time when fantasy films still had an earnestness and scope rarely found in today’s movies.
5 Being John Malkovich
USA Films
Charlie Kaufman’s script for Being John Malkovich had already become the stuff of legend well before director director Spike Jonze brought it to the screen in 1999. It is still the most absurdist approach to a film plot, and ranks as possibly the funniest execution of a surrealist idea in filmmaking history. The fact that it was the first major motion picture for both Kaufman and Jonze proves the inherent genius of both, and the originality of the script led to an Academy Award nomination for Kaufman’s script, after nearly every major studio had earlier passed on the film. Its influence can be found on filmmakers from Wes Anderson to the Coen brothers, and is emulated as much for its risk-taking approach as its use of the avatar as a plot device.
4 Videodrome
Another box-office bomb turned cult-classic, David Cronenberg’s Videodrome is the most unsettling film on this list, both for its body horror visuals and its hyper-critical commentary on technology and entertainment. While it may have been too risque for audiences at the time of its release, it’s still great for a rewatch thanks to the acting performances of James Woods and Debbie Harry and the ground-breaking approach to practical effects found throughout the movie.
3 Mulholland Drive
Les Films Alain Sarde
No collection of great surrealist films would be complete without at least one entry from David Lynch, and while he has made other surrealist films with arguably more influence (see: Blue Velvet), none have captured audiences quite like Mulholland Drive. The film had arguably the greatest performances from any of Lynch’s films, and introduced many audiences to the acting talents of then-unknown actors Naomi Watts and Justin Theroux. It displays Lynch’s mastery of the uncanny, and has been oft-debated for the ambiguity of its themes, which Lynch has left open to interpretation. It is, however, clearly a commentary on the many pitfalls for aspirant souls who come to Hollywood in search of stardom, and the dark underbelly of the Los Angeles movie-making machine.
2 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Anonymous Content
The second entry on this list from the mind of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an idea so ambitious it could have only been visually executed by a genius like director Michel Gondry. The film marries traditional surrealist themes like dreams and memory to a love story that is more earnest than those found in most surrealist films. It expanded our understanding of Jim Carrey’s immense talents, utilizing both his comedic brilliance and depth as a dramatic actor. The film won Kaufman the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, becoming another rare example of a surrealist concept crossing over into mainstream appeal.
1 8½
Via Columbia Pictures
Arguably the most influential film of the 20th Century, Federico Fellini’s 8½ set the standard for surrealist themes being used to explore the nature of filmmaking itself. The plot is somewhat autobiographical for Fellini, who dealt with his own creative block by creating a film about the subject, marrying the grace and elegance of Italian fashion and design to the as-yet-unexplored realm of metafiction in movie making. Marcello Mastroianni humanizes the film’s protagonist in a way that displays Fellini’s anxiety for the process of filmmaking, a theme that has been broached by celluloid luminaries like Orson Welles and François Truffaut. The movie has been emulated by entire film movements like the French New Wave and the New Hollywood directors of the 60s and 70s, and its influence continues to endure to this day.
